Bury St Edmunds Church changes name to the inclusive Church to show all are welcome

A church in Bury St Edmunds has changed its name to show that 'everyone is welcome', no matter what someone’s background is.

The Horringer Court Community Church (HC3) in Glastonbury Road, within the grounds of Horringer Court Middle School, has held its name for 37 years, but it has since been renamed as the inclusive Church.

Stephen Jarrold, pastor at the church, said he hopes the name change will send out the message to everyone that the church will not discriminate on the grounds of disability, ethnicity, gender identity, mental health, sexuality or marital status.

He said: "A name is important and I think it reflects what you think your church should be about.

"One of the things I’ve been aware most of my life is that people have ideas of what they think church is. One of the things that people feel, and this might be people who have never been to a church, is that church isn’t welcome, it’s not relevant and certainly, if they have a particular lifestyle, they may prejudge a church’s opinion. We wanted our name to say everyone is welcome."

The Covid-19 pandemic offered up an opportunity for the church to think about rebranding and at look at ways to appeal to wider society.

Stephen said: "You never really get a chance to stop completely and say we’re going to look at the whole thing again. Not long before the pandemic, we as leaders of the church had been discussing what our response would be to marginalised communities and we agreed together that we wanted to be a welcoming church.

"Covid gave the opportunity to reflect and think about whether we’re appealing to the people that we want to reach."

With news that the Horringer Court Middle School site will be closed in 2023, Stephen along with other church leaders decided to press on with the name change despite the uncertainty. He hopes that the council will allow them to remain where they are.

He said: "I’m hoping that Suffolk Council see that there is a need and plenty of scope on that. It’s a big site and if a community building is included we hope that we might get the chance to be a part of that. But if that isn’t the case then we will have to consider where we’re going to be."

Inclusive Church can be found online here.